The present invention relates to a cutting device for agricultural machines, which is located on a feed passage for stalk products. Such cutting device are provided in particular on drivable bailers and self-loading forage wagons, in which the stalk product is taken by a pickup from the ground and must be subsequently comminuted.
A cutting device of this type is disclosed for example in the German patent document DE 43 02 199. The specific feature of this cutting device is that the knife lever which abuts against the knives under the action of individual associated spring elements can be jointly turned out for dismounting of the knives without tensioning of the spring elements, or in other words with a relatively low force. For this purpose the knife lever is connected through rods with an immovable joint transverse element. The rods which are surrounded in this case each by a pressure spring, extend through the traverse and are provided with abutments at their ends. Thereby, a knife under the action of a foreign body, for example when a stone is located in the feed passage, can turn out from the feed passage with compression of the associated spring element for a short time. The individual rods are freely movable. If on the other hand, the traverse is moved by means of cylinder-piston units engaging with it, then the rods are taken along because of their abutments and lift the knife lever from the knives, so that the spring length does not substantially change. The above-described cutting device can be further improved.